Travel Surfboard

Dennis Galante for TIME

Inventor: Karl Pope

Karl Pope has been searching for the perfect surfboard since he took to the waves in the mid-1950s. In 1964 he introduced the Travelboard, a three-piece model, with partner Tom Morey (who went on to invent the boogie board in 1971). Four years ago, Pope introduced the Bisect, a two-piece board that is even easier to transport; just pull it out of the trunk, snap it together, and head for the water. His latest innovation: the Bisect Hollow Carbon Stealth (as in Stealth fighter). It's pressure-molded out of a carbon-fiber composite  a jet-age fabric woven with graphite and impregnated with epoxy that's 20% lighter than conventional foam  and-fiber-glass long boards and, Pope claims, "at least 10 times stronger." It's also 125% more expensive.